Apparatus for forming ice cubes



Feb. 7, 1933. J. E. SPALDING APPARATUS FOR FORMING ICE CUBES Filed July 50, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l 54H55 f'. SPALo/I/va,

Feb. 7, 1933. .1. E. sPALDlNG APPARATUS FOR FORMING 16E CUBES Filed July 30, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 7, 1933 `.Tantas E. snai-imno, ooLLIjNsVILLEg-Irmivors 'i 'A i l minnaars roan'r'a. ids" crises Applicaties me@ Jiriyjso', lean'sefiai N. Lindner,` This invention relates generallyv prong i'oe' pick employed in severingtheki'lobs i from the block of ice;'

erator's, and more particularly to a devicefor forming ice cubes .fromi a block of ice. v

The advantages of `having small cubes of ice for the rcool'in'g 'of' bevera esv and the like is well recognized, su

ch*- cubes Y eing generally produced by reezingthem within a'panor container having a grildworkilwithinwhich the cubesI are frozen. yAnother manner in 0 vwhich these cubes formed is by the cutting of a block of ice by various means, principal among which was a hot electric conductor, into bo'dfieslof ice in the shape of a parallelepiped andi afterwards severing the parallelepipeds `toiorm cubes of a desirable size.

have `previously been None of these devices,- however, is .such that itimaybe appliedto' an!` ordinary refrigerator operated to form ice cubes. ,t The object of thisA invention is,

stated, to providel a orV ice-box Aand be there generally device for forming ice cubes, which is readily adaptable or attachable to an ordinary ice-box.

A further object of this invention is to provide a device of the character described 1n which the ice by its own weight will form 1tself into cubes of a desired? size.

A more specic object of this invention is to provide a device of the character described in which the penetrationof the cube-forming element into the ice block may be controlled.

Another obj ect of this invention is to proin the art' when the following description is read in connection with the accompanying dra-wings; in which:

Figure l` is a sectional view in front ele'v'a# tion of a refrigerator provided with` the'cube'- forming device of this invention;

Figure 2 is al sectional side view takenalong line 2-2 of Figure 1l Figure 3 is a perspectiveviewoffthe cubeforming grid-work;

fFigure 4^ is a view refrigerator wall' an in fiontelevationoftlie d showing one; form of guide for directing the'movem'ent" of a severingfmember;i

Figure 5 isa per spective view ofi atwo J Figure 6 isa diagrammaticsvie'wof another embodiment of'this invention; i Figure is a dfagrammatic viewof another embodiment ofthisinventifon and. showing the block. of icefwith 'k'nobsformedather-eene;I A 1 Figure 8V isa perspective view'of anfice'saw employed .with the embodiments shown; in Figures 6 and 7 to' sever the knobsfo i-cefrom thebloclqand p 7 y -1 l4 i Figure-9 is a diagrammatic view, ill`ustrat+ V ing a method of increasing the pressureon Y the" ice. Y, r. `In accordance with this invention,.the floor oi'theice compartment of a refrigerator/is'- providedwith a grid-work consisting oiintersecting metallickplates uponwhicha block of ice may rest. In accordance with. a welle'` known principle of physicsA thatfportion of the block of ice which contacts withthe plates of the grid-work will, by the pressure exerted atthispoint7 lower the freezing point ofthe ice along the lines ofcontact, and, according'- lythe medium willreturn `to a liquid state '7 along these lines, permitting the gridlwork to penetrate the block of ice,;whi;chv action is,- caused entirely by the weight of the iceblock upon the grid-work. fA plate member may be insertedI beneath theblock of ice to prevnt` penetration of the grid-work tliereintogiori-t may be removed from this position andfpla'eed beneath the grid-work to, limit 'tliepenet'rati-oii of the grid-work intothebloclr of'ic'e.

Referring now t'o the drawings-and more particularly `to Figures 124:', 1T designates 4,the walls surroundinganfice compartment ofi an ordinary refrigerator.' Between opposite walls lof the refrigerator'is supported an ice ssamm-flew a which is fome-d, of a piurality ofv perpendicular' plates 3y-4f",-xgvhichV are vertically disposed and inter-sectedto form rec'es'ses'of the size in which itis dsirableto form ic@ Cubes; Irwin be O'bservduau .the plates ijare oivv greater width, tliat 4is,of'greatf er vertical extension' than the plates: 3 4vhicfh extend atvv right anglestllereto and intersect therewith; and the purpose'V oftlisconstruef 'i ai the grid-work from which the cubes have not .6o v Y the ice cubes when they are severed from the y a piecey of at sheet metal of a width which may vary from that slightly yin excess of the distance between any two parallel plates to the widthof the entire iioor, but in the pre erred embodiment here illustrated this plate l has been shown as wide enough to cover three Yrows'of the cube-forming compartments, is provided. It is thus apparent that when the plate is disposed above the grid-work, as

illustrated in Figure 1, the ice block' is held' in a position above the gridwoikf2, andthus penetration of the grid-work Ainto the block is prevented. However, whenit is desired to form cubes, the plate 5 is removed from the position illustrated in Figure 1, and inserted lbeneaththe gridfwork in the positionillus` trated in Figure 2; itbeing supported in this position by the guide member 7 integral with i vand extendingacrossthe -r'ont andback .of`

thefgrid-work 2V adjacent the walls of the refrigerator- Thusl when the plate 5f'isV inY the position illustrated in'Figure2, that is,

beneathy thefgrid-work 2, the block of ice 6 will be permitted tomelt away along the lines in Vcontact with the [plates 3 and 4; thus permiti-ing the grid-.Work to penetrate the block 6 untilfthe knobsformed within the gridworkcoine into engagement'with the plate V5 in it'slowermostposition, so that further penetration` oi' the grid-work into the'ice block isprevented. It now it be desired to remove the cubes which fill one Vor two rows of the cubelforming compartments, lthe plate 5 may bedisposed `beneath that portionof been removed,y Thus the plate `will remain in engagement/ with the ice and prevent yfurther penetratidn4 of the block along the area from which thelicubes have already been re- Amoved, thereby preventingexcessive meltage and assuring economy in the operation of the device.- Vhen, however, the cubes have been removed Vfrom alli; of the ice-forming compartments, if the plate 5 is left in its lowern most position, illustrated in Figure 2, melting will again'takeplace alongthe'lines in contact ywith plates Sandv 4, and each of the iceforming compartments in the grid-work will again be filled until-the ice comes into contact with the plate 5.11 K

,Beneath the floor 2 of the ice compartment i is disposed an inclined tray Shaving at its front Vportion a trough 9` draining into a spout 10,'and it will be apparent that with this arrangement the-water produced by' melting of the ice is conducted forwardly to the trough 9 and is thence conductedto the desirable outlet or spout=10. VThe plate'mem-k ber 8 serves the further purpose of collecting block, asl will be hereinafterdescribed, and it is, of course, to be understood that the refrigerator door 11 extends farV enough'vdo'w'n to permit an individual to extend hisor her In the embodiment here illustrated, the

Adoor V11 isprovided with a plurality of apertures l2 which extend therethrough at a levelY just above the top plates 3, which, it will be recalled, are narrower than the intersecting plates 4 ofthe gridwork. These apertures are Vprovided in pairs,v as clearly illustrated in Figure4, and it is to beunderstood that they may `V bef provided inVv either wall of vthe refrigerator, if such construction be found pref- Y erable'to the'provision in the door,"as here illustrated. A two prong ice pick 18 is illustrated in Figure 5,;and the distance between pick 13 may-Abe provided with any desirableV handibeneath the floor 2 and gather the ice lcubes from the inclined plate 8.

number of prongs, but that an equal number n of apertures mustexis't inthe wall otr-the refrigerator' Vadj acent each row: of vcube-forming'lcompartments. I f i. l

Referring now to Figure 6, an embodiment is shown in which the cubes may be preferably formed of larger dimensions, such as rwould be desired incommercial user` An ice-box 15 is provided near-its bottom'portion with a gridework 16, similar'to that illustrated in Figure 8, except that thev vintersectingplates are of equal height. A slot 17 is provided transversely acrossjthe wallof the ice-box 15"adjacent the top of Vthe grid-work 16,

wherebyacutting element such as asaw 18, illustratedV in Figure 8, fmay be inserted throughthe wall' of the ice-box andguided in its operation'tol sever the knobs, formed in the grid-work16,`from the block 19. A doorway 20'is hinged at the bottom of the'ice-box 15 to provide access` to the compartment beneath the grid-work 16, so that the cubes after being'severed from the block 19, may beV removed'from the box l15.

In Figure 7, an embodiment'is illustrated in n which'a slot 21 for guiding such a saw, such as 18, isv provided beneathV the grid-work 16` rather than above it,I as illustrated in Figure 6and it will be'observed that in this embodi-V ment the grid-work penetrates the ice until the knobs of thefdesired -length'are for-med below the grid-work 16,y at lwhich time theL saw 18maybe insertedin the slot 21 to sever thel cubesfrom the knobs which exist inthe grid-woriny It is pointed out thati'f',th'e ice box illustrated in 1,*"i'gureV 7, isfprovided with such a door as 20 in Figure 6, then the guide-l .way 21 maybe formed ofy a strip o'fimetal f (attending across the bot Similar 1207101? Fie ures l and 2, in the preferred embodiment of this invention.

In Figure 9 is illustrated a means whereby melting of the ice and its formation into cubes may be expedited by the application of greater pressure than would be obtained by the weight of the ice acting alone,

as previously described, and this device is particularly applicab-le to the embodiments illustrated in Figures 6 and 7. In Figure 9 the grid-work 16 is illustrated upon which is resting a block of ice 19. Any suitable lid or supporting structure 22 may be provided to receive a screw 23 which is movable by means of a lever 24 to exert a pressure upon the ice-block 19 through the plates 25 and 26, thus increasing the pressure between the grid work 16 and the block of ice 19, further lowering the freezing point of the ice along the lines in Contact with the trative and shall not be taken in a limiting V- sense.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is: j

l. An ice-box having an ice sustaining floor comprising, a grid-work of intersecting` plates, disposed for e-flgewise contact with a f block of ice resting thereupon, and means disposed when in one position to prevent penetration of said plates into said block and when in another position tolimit penetration of said plates into said block. j

2. An ice-box having an ice sustaining floor comprising, a grid-work of intersecting plates, disposed for edgewise contact with a block of ice resting thereupon, whereby to form ice knobs within said grid-work, and means guided adjacent one edge of the plates for severing said knobs from said block.

3. ice-box having an ice sustaining loor comprising, a grid-work of intersecting plates, disposed for edgewise contact with a block of ice resting thereupon, whereby to form ice knobs within said grid-work, means guided adjacent one edge of the plates for severing said knobs from said block, and a tray beneath said grid-work for receiving the severed knobs.

4. An ice-box having an ice sustaining fioor comprising, a grid-work of intersecting plates, disposed for edgewise Contact with a block of ice resting thereupon, the penetrating edges of plates extending in one direction being extended beyond the penetrating edges of plates extending in the other direction whereby is formed a guideway transversely of the'latter plates.

5. An ice-box having an ice sustaining floor comprising, a grid-work Vof intersecting plates, disposed for edgewise contact with a block of ice resting thereupon, whereby to form ice knobs within said grid-work, means guided adjacent one edge of the plates for severing said knobs from said block, and a member below said grid-work disposed toA conduct away drippings from the 'ice and re ceive the severed knobs. i i

6. An ice-box comprising, an ice block sustaining floor having a cube-forming grid work, and a wall having a guide therein for directing a cutting elementl to sever the cubes from the block.

7. A device for forming ice cubes, comprising a grid-work for sustaining a block Vof ice, a cutting device for severing ice cubes formed by said grid-work from the block, and a guide adjacent said grid-work for directing the movement of said cutting device.

8. A device for forming ice cubes comprising, a grid work of intersecting plates having edges arranged to penetrate an iceblock, the penetrating edges of plates extending in one direction being vertically otl'set from theA penetrating edges of plates extending in av transverse direction. j

9,. A device for forming ice cubes comprising, a. grid work of intersecting plates hav-ing edges arranged to penetrate anice block, and

means arranged below the penetrating edges of some. of said plates for guiding a severing device therebetween.

In testimony whereof Iaflix my signature this 26th day of July, 1930. A

' JAMES E. SPALDING. 

